Cape Coral City Council agreed the city should create a policy for giving donated city land to organizations.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s discussion came about as the city received a request from Lee BIA Builders Care for the donation of two properties for the development of single-family homes. There was a second request during the workshop from another organization for donated land.<\/p>\n
Rick Jacobs, executive director of 4KIDS of Southwest Florida, spoke during public input and asked council if they would be willing to donate one of the city\u2019s \u201csurplus\u201d lots to 4KIDS, an organization that keeps siblings in foster care together.<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine for just a moment a child that was just being placed in foster care, walking through that trauma and realizing you will also be separated from your brothers and your sisters. Unfortunately, this is the reality for many large sibling groups that get placed at foster care. At 4KIDS, we believe this does not have to happen,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are asking the city of Cape Coral to potentially donate one of its available city lots, so we can build a home specifically designed to keep large sibling groups together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacobs said they have established homes in other parts of the state, so they have experience operating the home, building relationships, and having the infrastructure in place to serve the children. He said they have a local builder onboard, and foster parents to step in and lead the home.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Jennifer Nelson-Lastra asked if they could consider Jacobs\u2019 request, so the city can fill the void.<\/p>\n
The question came forward as to how the city qualifies organizations for donated land.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Bill Steinke asked if the city had some type of qualification or vetting mechanism, so each applicant is assessed the same way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely need to have some type of program that we can apply equally to any party, or organization,\u201d he said, adding that the city needs to establish some type of criteria.<\/p>\n
Council all agreed that a policy needs to be in place before anything is approved.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Dr. Derrick Donnell thought it was a problem the city does not have a process to follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am uncomfortable without having a process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mayor John Gunter agreed and said he believes a policy needs to be in place for processing an application. He said it needs to be fair and consistent, no matter who the nonprofit is walking through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore we go down that path, I would like to see staff bring back a recommendation of what that policy is and how to apply it and have a discussion at a future committee of the whole,\u201d Gunter said. \u201cOnce the policy is in place, and as long as they meet the criteria, then it is easier for us to make that decision whether to approve or deny it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson-Lastra volunteered to work on the policy with staff next week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the spirit of transparency, (we should) have the policy in place before we wave our wand to hand it over to any organization. It\u2019s more fair and consistent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Gunter said they should also identify parcels that they can have in a \u201cbank of parcels,\u201d so they know what they have to offer.<\/p>\n
The council also gave a nod to a list of surplus properties during the workshop.<\/p>\n
Dawn Andrews, with the public works real estate division, said they have determined what properties are no longer being used for a municipal purpose, or will be used in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took those properties on the residential and circulated them through various departments and received feedback of what could be utilized north of Pine Island Road,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gunter said there is more than $3 million sitting in surplus properties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t have a purpose, we need to get these on the tax roll,\u201d he said. \u201cI am comfortable taking 10 parcels and setting them aside until we develop the policy and see what we are going to do. The remaining parcels that do not have a future use, list these properties for sale.<\/p>\n